Just got a 1905 Ross Rifle. I would like to disassemble the bolt, but I can only find instructions for the 1910. I picked up an reprint of the 1905 instruction booklet, but can't make heads or tails on bolt disassembly. I am proceeding very carefully, as heaven forbid I break something. Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks for the help! You are a true hero. I checked it out and I will try to disassemble the bolt tomorrow. I guess they concentrate on the 1910 due to the improper bolt reassembly and the danger associated with it. Again, thanks a million!

Is a Ross rifle worth it? That depends on you, not someone else's opinion. I''ll tell you what I do now that I have acquired at least one of everything (Axis, Allied, Occupied, and Neutral): I shoot my 1911 7.5X55mm Swiss long rife the most. I shoot an M1 Carbine nearly as much because it is so much fun. If I had to take a bolt action rifle into battle, I'd take an Enfield No.4 Mk1. If I had to build 10 million rifles with not much money, I'd buy Mosin Nagants. I shoot all the others too. I don't own a Ross.

I'm kinda like Indy. Several years ago I bought a Ross butcher knife bayonet at a gun show simply because they are so uncommonly encountered. Of course, that means that now I have to find a rifle to mate the bayo to, but just haven't run across a decent specimen yet. And... if I do find one then I'll have to find a source of brass and bullets. And so on. It's a sickness.

Well When I ment is the rifle worth it I was not so much talking in like dollars today... But when they were making this little beastie in the past, they spend alot of time, design and effort to make it a pull push bolt.. and I would like to know just how slick the bolt is.. I assume its not as brutal as the m95.. and I still would like to know if its better then the k31..

And do if it is not.. Why did they take the time to develop this when the Mauser and then enfield bolts were available as examples...

I would say that the Ross has a smoother straight pull action than either My Austrian M86 or M95 rifles. It has been a while since I fired the Swiss so I don't recall how smooth it was.

The Ross was designed to be a marksman's rifle. When they didn't perform well in France (maybe dirt or poor quality ammo.) they were sold to the U.S. to use as training rifles. I have a repro. of the Kerr sling that the U.S. used.

I just got my 1905 Ross Rifle and haven't had a chance to take it out to the range. It is "U.S." marked, in the original military configuration. My first impression is that it is a finely built, unique rifle, and has very good lines, probably from it's sporting gun heritage. I have Swiss K-11's and K-31's, and in comparing the straight pull actions, they feel about the same. The Swiss bolts appears to be of a higher quality of engineering, just what you would expect of Swiss craftsmanship.
I shoot 303 Enfields and they are brutal on brass, the stretching of the brass only allows me 2 or 3 reloads. I will start to neck size only and see if it helps. One of the reasons I picked up a Ross is to shoot the 303 British round. Another reason is, just like many of you, absolutely love milsurps!

Hey Kit-e-cat, thanks for that insights I should have expected the Ross to be on the better side. Just as an FYI there SOG is selling some ww II British Surplus pretty cheap.. I was only able to test out a few rounds.. and they worked..

Thanks, I will check it out. I have found that, besides being Berdan primed, 303 military brass is much thicker than commercial brass. I have loaded some 7.5 Swiss berdan brass, but my berdan primers are running out. I know that I can find some, but what a hassle to get them as I live in the "People's Republik Of Kalifornia", then the hassle of taking the primer out with the RCBS Berdan tool. But on the other hand, what's else do old coots do?

It's a little extra effort, but the brass will last a lot longer if you do the following:
1, get some new brass and load it with something really mild, like 110gr bullets to about 1600 fps.
2, Wrap a narrow strip around the case head, to keep it centered in the chamber
3, put a thin film of grease on the cartridges, so they slide back against the bolt as pressure builds (why mild loads are used)
4, After firing, NECK SIZE ONLY

You will now be using a form of wildcat round, custom fitted to that chamber.

Arguing with someone who denounces reason is like administering medicine to a corpse.